Tuesday, February 28, 2017

THE CROSS OF CHRIST



It was on a visit to Macao in 1825 that Sir John Bowring, then governor of Hong Kong, received the inspiration to write his great hymn, "In the Cross of Christ I Glory."

At Macao the early Portuguese colonists erected as one of their first buildings a massive cathedral on the crest of a hill. Three centuries ago, under the assault of a violent typhoon, the cathedral fell, all save the front wall. The cathedral has never been rebuilt & the ponderous facade has stood for 300 years now as a monument to the past.

On top of the facade is a colossal bronze cross silhouetted against the sky, defying rain, lightning & typhoon. It was this cross, towering o'er the wreck of the past that inspired Bowring to write:

"In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o'er the wrecks of time..."

As long as the Church is faithful to the Cross, as long as it holds up to a dying world Christ & Him crucified, it will have power & glory, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

- (moreillustrations.com)

“For I decided that I would speak only of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.” – Paul (1 Cor 2:2 TLB)

‘God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, "I love you."’ -  Billy Graham.


Monday, February 27, 2017

THE FRUIT OF THE BIBLE



A man in Belgium rebuked a young woman & her brother for reading that “bad book” pointing to the Bible.

“Sir,” she replied, “a little while ago my brother was an idler, a gambler, a drunkard & made such a noise in the house that no one could stay in it. 

Since he began to read the Bible, he works with industry, goes no longer to the tavern, no longer touches cards, brings home money to our poor old mother, and our life at home is quiet & delightful. 

How comes it, sir, that a bad book produces such good fruits?”

- ‘Feathers for Arrows’ by Charles Spurgeon (ministry127.com)

1 Pet 1:23 (NLV): “You have been given a new birth. It was from a seed that cannot die. This new life is from the Word of God which lives forever.”

“So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hopes that they will prove useful citizens to their country and respectable members of society.” -  John Quincy Adams.

"WRONG STUFF" FOR THE SICK



In a school examination the examiner put the question, "What is false doctrine?"

Up went a little boy's hand & there came the answer: "It's when the doctor gives the wrong stuff to the people who are sick."

False doctrine (doctorine) indeed! Reports of sermons that we hear from some preachers show that there are pulpit doctors who are giving the "wrong stuff" to sin-sick souls.

- Sunday School Times. (moreillustrations.com)

Lam 2:14 (GNT): “Your prophets had nothing to tell you but lies; their preaching deceived you by never exposing your sin. They made you think you did not need to repent.”

Friday, February 24, 2017

SERVING TO GIVE OR GET?



Selfish service is impressed with the “big deal.” True service finds it almost impossible to distinguish the small from the large service.

Selfish service requires external rewards. True service rests contented in hiddenness.

Selfish service is highly concerned about results. True service is free of the need to calculate results.

Selfish service picks and chooses whom to serve. True service is indiscriminate in its ministry.

Selfish service is affected by moods and whims. True service ministers simply and purely.

- (ministry127.com)

“The highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service.” -  Billy Graham.         

Phil 2:3 (ERV): “In whatever you do, don’t let selfishness or pride be your guide. Be humble, and honor others more than yourselves.”

“The supreme test of service is this: For whom am I doing this? Much that we call service to Christ is not such at all....If we are doing this for Christ, we shall not care for human reward or even recognition.” -  A.T. Pierson.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

AVOIDING HIDDEN DANGER



In 2013, the North Carolina-Virginia border was closed for hours following a massive chain of accidents. Police later reported that 17 different collisions involved 95 cars & trucks. The wrecks left 3 people dead & more than two dozen injured - many of them seriously.

The cause of the accidents was people driving into a thick fog that descended over the Interstate that Sunday afternoon. A police spokesman said, “Visibility at the time this accident occurred was down to about one hundred feet or less.”

As people continued to drive blindly forward, they could not see the danger that was just ahead until it was too late. Prudence reminds us to be on guard for danger.

Because of the way our minds work, we often tend to disregard what may happen in the future simply because it hasn’t happened yet.

Pro 27:12 (NCV): “The wise see danger ahead and avoid it, but fools keep going and get into trouble.”

- ‘Roanoke Times’ (ministry127.com)

“A danger foreseen is half avoided.” - Thomas Fuller.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

WORSHIPPING SELF



Dan serves his athletic body. He works out in a gym 5 days a week & has impeccable eating habits. He is attracted only to other beautiful body people.

The problem is he keeps falling for shallow women who have no depth of spirit of character. He feels lonely & empty & eventually becomes bored & bitter. The false god of vanity fails him.

- (ministry127.com)

Ecc 12:8 (ESV): “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.”

“He (Lord Jesus) must increase in importance, while I must decrease in importance.” – John the Baptist (John 3:30 GW)

“Forget yourself and live for others, for it is more blessed to give than to receive.” - A.B. Simpson.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST



To one who asked George Muller the secret of his service, he replied, “There was a day when I died, utterly died,” and, as he spoke, he bent lower until he almost touched the floor—“died to George Muller, his opinions, preferences, tastes & will, died to the world, its approval or censure, died to the approval or blame even of my brethren & friends, and since then I have studied to show myself approved unto God.”

- (moreillustrations.com)

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” – Paul (Gal 2:20 ESV)

“I have now concentrated all my prayers into one, and that one prayer is this, that I may die to self, and live wholly to Him.”-  Charles Spurgeon.

Monday, February 20, 2017

OBEDIENCE TO THE BIBLE



“You may talk about power; but, if you neglect the one Book that God has given you as the one instrument through which He imparts & exercises His power, you will not have it.

You may read many books & go to many conventions to pray for the power of the Holy Ghost; but unless you keep in constant & close association with the one Book, the Bible, you will not have power.

And if you ever had power, you will not maintain it except by the daily, earnest, intense study of that Book.  99 Christians in every 100 are merely playing at Bible study; and therefore 99 Christians in every 100 are mere weaklings, when they might be giants, both in their Christian life & in their service.”

- R. A. Torrey (ministry127.com)

Jesus said: “So then, anyone who hears these words of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.” (Mat 7:24 GNT)

“It would have been well for the church of Christ, if the warnings of the Gospel had been as much studied as its promises.” -  J.C. Ryle.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

LEARNING



A dad with 5 children was picking up toys in the back yard. 

He said to his wife, “You know since we had children I’ve learned the meaning of, ‘When I became a man I put away childish things.’” (1 Cor 13:11)

- (ministry127.com)

Pro 19:8 (GNT): “Do yourself a favor and learn all you can; then remember what you learn and you will prosper.”

“If you learn from defeat, you haven't really lost.” - Zig Ziglar.

“Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” ― Otto von Bismarck .

Friday, February 17, 2017

SERVANT



Robert Morrison, the noted missionary to China wrote to his friends in England, asking for an assistant. In response, a young man from the country offered himself. After an interview, the members of the board decided that though he was an earnest Christian he was too rough & they gave him this decision:

"We do not think you fit to be a missionary, but if you would like to go out as a servant to the missionary, we will send you."

After hearing this answer, he said, "Well, sir, if the gentlemen don't think me fit to be a missionary, I will go as a servant. I am willing to be a hewer of wood & a drawer of water or do anything to help the cause of my Heavenly Master."

He was sent out as a servant, but he soon became a missionary & turned out to be Dr. Milne, one of the best missionaries that ever went to that country.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Mk 9:35 (GNT): Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all.”

“If you seek to please men you can never be a servant of the Lord.” -  Zac Poonen.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

MY RULE FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING



Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman had this which he called "My rule for Christian living":

"The rule that governs my life is this: anything that dims my vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my prayer life, or makes Christian work difficult, is wrong for me, and I must, as a Christian, turn away from it."

This simple rule may help you find a safe road for your feet along life's road.

- Watchman-Examiner. (moreillustrations.com)

“In conclusion, my friends fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.” – Paul (Phil 4:8 GNT)

“Loving God - really loving Him - means living out His commands no matter what the cost.” -  Chuck Colson.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

LOVE



Girl: “Do you love me?”

Boy: “Yes, Dear.”             

Girl: “Would you die for me?”

Boy: “No. Mine is an undying love.”

- (ministry127.com)         

“Christianity is a love relationship between a child of God and his Maker through the Son Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit." -  Adrian Rogers.

The Bible says: “For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life.” (Jn 3:16 VOICE)

“Love and cough cannot be hid.” -  George Herbert.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

GOD’S LOVE



A 36 year old mother was discovered to be in the advanced stages of terminal cancer. One doctor advised her to spend her remaining days on vacation.

A second physician offered her the hope of living two more years with the grueling side effects of radiation. 

She penned the following words to her 3 small children:

“I’ve chosen to try to survive for you. This has some horrible costs, including pain, loss of good humor, and moods I won’t be able to control. But, I must try this, if only on the outside chance that I might live one minute longer. And that minute could be the one you might need me when no one else will do. For this I intend to struggle tooth & nail, so help me God.”

People attempt to prove their love through many different means & some go to great lengths to do so. But no one ever proved their love like Jesus did in dying for us.

- ‘Focus on the Family’ (ministry127.com)

Isa 49:15 (GNT): So the Lord answers, “Can a woman forget her own baby and not love the child she bore? Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you.”

“On the whole, God's love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him.” -  C.S. Lewis.

Monday, February 13, 2017

PURITY IN GOD’S LOVE



The story of is told of a girl who regretted breaking her engagement and wrote this letter:

Dearest Tommy,

No words could ever express the great unhappiness I’ve felt since breaking our engagement. Please say you’ll take me back.

No one could ever take your place in my heart, so please forgive me.

I love you, I love you, I love you!

Yours forever,

Maria

PS: And congratulations on winning the state lottery.

-(ministry127.com)

Ep 2:4 (NIV): “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

“By the cross we know the gravity of sin and the greatness of God's love toward us.” - John Chrysostom.

Sunday, February 12, 2017

FOOLISHNESS



I remember a missionary from China stating that while preaching at a Port, he was accosted at the close of his discourse by a sailor, saying, "I will not believe what you have told us until you inform me why God allowed sin to come into the world."

The missionary was a blunt man & his answer came quickly. "Man," he said, "you are a fool & I will prove it. 

Suppose a man was on the top floor of an eleven-story building & a fire broke out in the first floor. The man heard the cries of fire but he kept on reading a book.

Finally the flames burst right into his room. He rushed to the window; saw a fire escape there & firemen below. Instead of climbing down the ladder to safety, he shouted down to the firemen, `I won't come down until you tell me how the fire started in the building.'

What would you think of that man?" he inquired of the sailor.

"I would say he was a fool," the sailor blurted out & by his statement he thus condemned himself.

- Gospel Herald. (moreillustrations.com)

1 Cor 1:18 (ICB): “The teaching about the cross seems foolish to those who are lost. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

“An honest heart is open to the Word.” -  A.W. Pink.

Friday, February 10, 2017

MOTIVES



A young fellow who worked in an investment house was impressed & very appreciative at the interest his business associates took in the news that his wife was going to have a baby.

Every day one or more of them would drop around to his desk to inquire: “How’s the wife doing?” “What does the doctor say?”  “How many more days?”

He did not know that every man in the office had a bet upon when the baby would arrive. The interest in his affairs really concerned a greedy desire to win the bet.

It is possible for Christians to have false motives. This is why the Holy Spirit says: “Let love be without hypocrisy.”  (Rom 12:9).

- ‘Let Me Illustrate’ by Donald Barnhouse. (ministry127.com)

“Man sees your actions, but God your motives.” - Thomas a Kempis.

Pro 16:2 (GNT): “You may think everything you do is right, but the Lord judges your motives.”

“Many people live righteously for selfish or misguided reasons. If you are striving to please God, examine your motives today.” - Paul Chappell.

WITNESS



During the 1859 revival in Ireland a man was saved. He could do nothing more than tell what the Lord had done for his soul.

He went over to Scotland to work in some mills there & in the factory where he worked 1300 hands was employed.

So great was the impression made upon them by his simple testimony that no less than 600 were led to Christ.

- (moreillustrations.com)

Mk 5:18-19 (GNT):  As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had had the demons begged him, “Let me go with you!”  But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he told him, “Go back home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how kind he has been to you.”

“If a man cannot be a Christian in the place where he is, he cannot be a Christian anywhere.” -  Henry Ward Beecher.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

PRAYER & HIS WILL



One day a lady was giving her little nephew some lessons. He was generally a good, attentive child, but on this occasion he could not fix his mind on his work. 

Suddenly he said, "Auntie, may I kneel down & ask God to help me find my marble?"

His aunt having given her consent, the little boy knelt by his chair, closed his eyes & prayed silently. Then he rose & went on with his lessons contentedly.

Next day, almost afraid of asking the question, lest the child had not found his toy & so might lose his simple faith, the lady said to him, "Well, dear, have you found your marble?"

"No, auntie” was the reply; "but God has made me not want to."

God does not always answer our prayers in the way we wish or expect; but if we are sincere in our appeal to him, He will take from us the desire for what is contrary to His will & give us faith to leave all to His holy will.

- Grace and Truth. (moreillustrations.com)

Mat 26:39 (ICB): Then Jesus walked a little farther away from them. He fell to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, do not give me this cup of suffering. But do what you want, not what I want.”

1 Jn 5:14 (ISV): “And this is the confidence that we have in him: if we ask for anything according to his will, he listens to us.”

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

FEAR OF DEATH



“Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don't you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal- a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body.” -  D.L. Moody.   

“Live in Christ, live in Christ, and the flesh need not fear death.” - John Knox.
 
1 Cor 15:55&57 (ESV): “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 


Monday, February 6, 2017

KNOWING CHRIST INTIMATELY



Mr. Glenny, the founder of the North Africa Mission, was once away upon the Yorkshire moors & he was told there was a very godly old shepherd who would be minding the sheep out on those moors & Mr. 
Glenny said, "I would like to meet that man."

They said, "You will find him. Just roam over the moors & you will come across him all right."

One morning Mr. Glenny started out & there among the sheep he found this old shepherd. He walked up to him & said, "Brother, may I shake hands with you? I hear you love the Lord Jesus."

I do not feel that it is irreverent if I give you that shepherd's reply in the words he used. He said, "Yes, sir, I love the Lord Jesus, and me & Him are very thick.”

Could you say that? Are you on terms like that with the Lord Jesus?

- Gospel Herald. (moreillustrations.com)

Js 2:23 (CEV): This is what the Scriptures mean by saying, “Abraham had faith in God, and God was pleased with him.” That’s how Abraham became God’s friend.

“The dearest friend on earth is a mere shadow compared to Jesus Christ.” -  Oswald Chambers.

Js 4:4 (GNT): “Unfaithful people! Don't you know that to be the world's friend means to be God's enemy? If you want to be the world's friend, you make yourself God's enemy.”

BACKWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS



Isn't the following alternative version of 'Onward Christian Soldiers' more suitable for the Church today?

Backward Christian soldiers, Fleeing from the fight,
With the cross of Jesus, Nearly out of sight.
Christ our rightful master, Stands against the foe;
Onward into battle, we seem afraid to go.

Like a mighty tortoise, Moves the church of God.
Brothers we are treading, Where we’ve often trod.
We are much divided, Many bodies we,
Having different doctrines, but not much charity.

Crowns and thrones may perish, Kingdoms rise and wane,
But the cross of Jesus Hidden does remain.
Gates of hell should never ‘gainst the Church prevail,
We have Christ’s own promise, but we think it might fail.

Sit here then ye people, Join our sleeping throng.
Blend with ours, your voices in a feeble song. 
Blessings, ease and comfort Ask from Christ the King, 
But with our modern thinking, We won’t do a thing.

Chorus:
Backward Christian soldiers, Fleeing from the fight,
With the cross of Jesus, Nearly out of sight.

- (Anonymous)

Ep 5:14 (CEV): As the Scriptures say, “Wake up from your sleep and rise from death. Then Christ will shine on you.”


Friday, February 3, 2017

MISUNDERSTANDING



One little boy’s apparent misunderstanding of the term ‘broken home’ prompted this admonition from his father: 

“I don’t care if the basement wall is cracking. Please stop telling everyone you come from a broken home.” 

- (ministry127.com)

“If we do anything to further the kingdom of God, we may expect to find what Christ found on that road - abuse, indifference, injustice, misunderstanding, trouble of some kind. Take it. Why not? 

To that you were called. In Latin America someone who feels sorry for himself is said to look like a donkey in a downpour. 

If we think of the glorious fact that we are on the same path with Jesus, we might see a rainbow.” - Elisabeth Elliot.

1 Pet 2:21 (ESV): “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.”

CHRIST GIVES FREEDOM



Above the entrance to the concentration camp in Auschwitz, Germany were the words ‘Arbeit Macht Frei. The words mean “Work makes free.”

It was a boldfaced lie suggesting that if the prisoners worked hard, they would be given liberty. The promised freedom was a horrifying death.

Many people believe that if they do their best good works they will earn Heaven. This, however, is false. They will learn too late that good works do not earn freedom.

It is Christ’s blood that liberates. He died to give us freedom from the penalty of our sin.

- ‘Blood to Remember’ by Charles Ades Fishma (ministry127.com)

Isa 64:6 (KJV) :”But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

“May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” - Peter Marshall.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

EVERYTHING NOT LOST



A man stood in the street & gazed at his bomb-wrecked home. Then he said to his wife:

"This morning someone came into our dugout & told me that we had lost everything. It's a lie. Thank God, I've still got health & strength to carry on with my job. I still have you, my dear & the children.

Thank God, you're all safe. Hitler hasn't smashed my faith in the love & wisdom of God, or my faith in the ultimate victory of right. I still have hope for the future. I can still call my soul my own. I am still alive & ready for action again.

So I reckon that you & I ought to thank God that we have saved far more than we have lost. Houses & buildings may be wrecked & ruined, but you & I can still hold on to things which can never be shaken or destroyed."

- Church Standard. (moreillustrations.com)

Mat 6:19-21 (GNT): “Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal. Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. For your heart will always be where your riches are.”

“It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he has.” -  Henry Ward Beecher.

CREATE A THIRST



A young salesman was disappointed about losing a big sale & as he talked with his sales manager, he lamented, “I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”

The manager replied, “Your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty.”

So it is with evangelism. Our lives should be so filled with Christ that they create a thirst for the Gospel.

- (ministry127.com)

“The key to Christian living is a thirst and hunger for God. And one of the main reasons people do not understand or experience the sovereignty of grace and the way it works through the awakening of sovereign joy is that their hunger and thirst for God is too small.” - John Piper.

Jesus responded and said to her, “Everyone drinking from this water will thirst again. But whoever should drink from the water which I will give him - he will never thirst, ever. On the contrary, the water which I will give him will become a spring of water in him, bubbling-up to eternal life”. (Jn 4:13-14 DLNT)